Eliza’s Village

Eliza’s Village will be a world class development utilizing cutting edge, “village style” community development concepts that have been successful in Europe for decades.

Located in Thornhill, BC

Village-style housing for seniors and young families

Planned in consultation with local First Nations

It will be a green community using the most up to date technology to reduce or eliminate the carbon footprint while at the same time creating economic value for the local forest industry. The unique business model that will be used to develop and operate the project will be Social Enterprise. Therefore the project will be financially self-sustaining but community social capital will be the principle driver, not financial profits.

Eliza’s Village will provide a wide variety of housing options from entry level young singles, to young families, to mature families and empty-nesters, all the way to various seniors housing options for independent living, assisted living, long term or chronic care and palliative and hospice resources. Low income housing options will be incorporated into the community design.

The project will be developed in phases over a period of 4 to 5 years and will be spearheaded by Enterprise4Good, a Social Enterprise charitable group based in Calgary, which has over $50 Million in assets and has numerous senior facilities operating in Canada. Enterprise4Good has the funds available for the core project. Local participation, at this point primarily by Pacific North Coast Development Society (PNCDS), a not for profit society based in Pacific Northwest, will be providing a steering committee and will eventually morph into an advisory committee to work with Enterprise4Good.

There will be no single use infrastructure. Facilities such as commercial kitchens, dining halls and other open areas will be utilized in a variety of ways by local community groups. The design will showcase the physical beauty of Thornhill to create open spaces and pathways.

Eliza’s Village is named after the First Nations wife of Tom Thornhill, paying tribute to one of key figures in local history. In a true village sense, Eliza’s Village will strive to respect and embrace First Nations and all cultures. As a result, it will incorporate local culture, traditional healing methods and reintroduce all aspects of art into the community setting.

This world class “village style” community development is based on five core goals:

Housing Options for Seniors
Eliza’s Village will have different levels of housing compartments that range from the traditional “stand alone” housing, to pod style accommodation, through culturally appropriate First Nations housing.

Alternative Level of Care
Eliza’s Village will incorporate supplementary programs in a number of distinct segments

Low Income Housing
All aspects of society will be nestled together thereby eliminating much of the “ghettoization” that happens in traditional developments. A low income portion will have the capacity to allow for a growth of equity in the asset they are living in and thereby assist in breaking the cycle of poverty.

Economic, Environmental & Social Sustainability
Eliza’s Village will be a leader in implementation of true green technology. This will be done with an eye to enhancing local workforce and helping grow the local economies such as forestry, education and localized utilities, along different paths than they presently are on.

Pilot Programs
Eliza’s Village intends to be a leader in development and delivery of programs with one unique feature. It will be based in the north so will have a better understanding of the challenges people living in remote areas face.